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Frontlines: Evolution #1
Scorpio
On a distant Earth colony, an orphaned survivor of an alien invasion discovers that the greatest world-ending dangers aren’t behind her.
It’s been eight years since an alien invasion drove a small surviving group of settlers to seek refuge in an underground shelter. Cut off from the rest of humanity, the ragtag band has maintained a narrowly functioning colony due to communal effort and salvage runs. Alex Archer has her own duties as a dog handler. While this off-world colony may be harsh, Ash, Alex’s black shepherd raised to sense threats, makes living in it a little nicer.
But the tenuous hide-and-seek with the monstrous species known as the Lankies is about to come to an end for Alex and her close-knit crew of soldiers, techs, and friends. When a salvage operation goes catastrophically wrong, the Lankies home in on the humans.
With hopes of a rescue long faded, all Alex has left is will—and the fear that there’s so much more to lose.
It’s been eight years since an alien invasion drove a small surviving group of settlers to seek refuge in an underground shelter. Cut off from the rest of humanity, the ragtag band has maintained a narrowly functioning colony due to communal effort and salvage runs. Alex Archer has her own duties as a dog handler. While this off-world colony may be harsh, Ash, Alex’s black shepherd raised to sense threats, makes living in it a little nicer.
But the tenuous hide-and-seek with the monstrous species known as the Lankies is about to come to an end for Alex and her close-knit crew of soldiers, techs, and friends. When a salvage operation goes catastrophically wrong, the Lankies home in on the humans.
With hopes of a rescue long faded, all Alex has left is will—and the fear that there’s so much more to lose.
283 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 527 reviews
December 30, 2023
There is nothing like a well-written military space opera, this story was intense!
Alex (21) was born on Earth, but she holds no memories of the beautiful planet, because she left with her parents when she was two. Her parents were part of a large group of colonists who traveled into space to terraform another planet.
Giant aliens called ‘Lankies� showed up one day and started to destroy all of the terraforming machines and killing all humans above ground. These aliens are massive standing at 20 meters/65.5 feet tall.
Ash is a very smart dog. He has the special ability to notify his handler when aliens are near.
Alex and Ash are part of the military salvage crew that braves the hostile surface of the planet, looking for resources to keep their tiny human colony running.
The aliens are terrifying. They are described briefly, but I was left unknowing what made them tick. Did they view humans as pests, like ants or rodents? How many other planets are they destroying?
Overall, the story was a win. I felt that the author slipped a little towards the end, he seems to excel at writing military action, but his characters interactions aren’t as detailed. While this is not a romance, there is a small romantic element near the end.
Ends with a hfn and sets up the story for the next book.
*As a side-note, the publishers mentioned only male sci-fi authors when comparing this story to others. I understand sci-fi has traditionally been a very male dominated genre, but what is the harm in mentioning female sci-fi authors?
Here are just a few who have written, amazing military sci-fi, featuring authentic characters, and gripping storylines.
(the author link for Becky Chambers isn’t working, so link is for one of her popular stories)
Alex (21) was born on Earth, but she holds no memories of the beautiful planet, because she left with her parents when she was two. Her parents were part of a large group of colonists who traveled into space to terraform another planet.
Three thousand colonists spent over twenty years setting up this planet for human habitation, and now all that work has been undone, and most of those colonists are dead and gone except for the less than two hundred who had the luck to be close to the admin center that day.
Giant aliens called ‘Lankies� showed up one day and started to destroy all of the terraforming machines and killing all humans above ground. These aliens are massive standing at 20 meters/65.5 feet tall.
Ash is a very smart dog. He has the special ability to notify his handler when aliens are near.
Alex and Ash are part of the military salvage crew that braves the hostile surface of the planet, looking for resources to keep their tiny human colony running.
Ash’s growl increases in resonance until she can feel the vibration of it in her arms as she is holding him. She can’t hear anything over the sound of the rain that’s pelting her hood and the ground all around her, but the dog’s focused concern fires up the primal alarm circuits in her brain.
The aliens are terrifying. They are described briefly, but I was left unknowing what made them tick. Did they view humans as pests, like ants or rodents? How many other planets are they destroying?
Overall, the story was a win. I felt that the author slipped a little towards the end, he seems to excel at writing military action, but his characters interactions aren’t as detailed. While this is not a romance, there is a small romantic element near the end.
Ends with a hfn and sets up the story for the next book.
*As a side-note, the publishers mentioned only male sci-fi authors when comparing this story to others. I understand sci-fi has traditionally been a very male dominated genre, but what is the harm in mentioning female sci-fi authors?
Here are just a few who have written, amazing military sci-fi, featuring authentic characters, and gripping storylines.
(the author link for Becky Chambers isn’t working, so link is for one of her popular stories)
December 25, 2023
Huge waste of time
This book seems like it only exists because Kloos got a new dog and wanted to work it into a short story, that he then stuffed with padding to justify charging full price. The first 20% of this book is a patrol going out to a destroyed outpost and back before anything actually happens.
It's chock full of conversations about nothing that advances the plot, feeling helpless, childish whining, and scared of the outdoors. Descriptions of stuff like humming machinery that takes up pages. Very little actually happens. I started skimming the last 40% and it doesn't get any better.
This was a major problem in the earlier Frontlines books, where there are lots of entire pointless chapters where the main character goes on leave that does nothing for the story that couldn't be done in a handful of pages. It feels like the author is just dragging out his Kindle Unlimited meal ticket at the expense of everything else. It's worth 2 stars because there's nothing wrong with the flow of the writing itself, it's just that there's no story to tell. I regret paying for this, and it's the last one I'll ever buy. Maybe when the series is finally over I'll skim through them on a month of Unlimited subscription so I don't waste my money.
This book seems like it only exists because Kloos got a new dog and wanted to work it into a short story, that he then stuffed with padding to justify charging full price. The first 20% of this book is a patrol going out to a destroyed outpost and back before anything actually happens.
It's chock full of conversations about nothing that advances the plot, feeling helpless, childish whining, and scared of the outdoors. Descriptions of stuff like humming machinery that takes up pages. Very little actually happens. I started skimming the last 40% and it doesn't get any better.
This was a major problem in the earlier Frontlines books, where there are lots of entire pointless chapters where the main character goes on leave that does nothing for the story that couldn't be done in a handful of pages. It feels like the author is just dragging out his Kindle Unlimited meal ticket at the expense of everything else. It's worth 2 stars because there's nothing wrong with the flow of the writing itself, it's just that there's no story to tell. I regret paying for this, and it's the last one I'll ever buy. Maybe when the series is finally over I'll skim through them on a month of Unlimited subscription so I don't waste my money.
June 25, 2023
SCORPIO commences a new SF series from prolific author Marko Kloos: FRONTLINES: EVOLUTION. If you're seeking Science Fiction with an emotionally mature, strong, determined, female protagonist, look right here. Alex Archer, orphaned at age twelve, survivor with 157 other terraforming human emigres on 18Scorpii, a far-flung planet. The "Lankys" (so nicknamed by the survivors because of their odd, almost dinosaur-like physique) are aliens twenty meters tall which are eradicating human space colonization. Living in The Vault, an underground cave system under a mountain, Alex has spent the last few years as a dog handler on salvage operations, accompanying technicians and military contingent to destroyed outposts on the planet seeking salvage of machinery, power cells, rations. Ash, the dog whom Alex handles, and his brother somehow are attuned to the imminent presence of Lankys and can alert their humans of danger.. It's time-consuming, stressful, and very dangerous, as is proven when a successful salvage run ends in catastrophe.
December 4, 2023
I picked this book up from the December 2023 Amazon First Picks selection, partly because I've found Marko Kloos readable in the past, and partly because there's a dog on the cover. (I'm a sucker for dog books.)
Well, there is a dog, and it plays a good role, but it's not really what the book is about. It's about a planet that's been invaded by what are effectively intelligent kaiju aliens. A small group of the colonists has been holed up underground, eking out a life hiding from the aliens for eight years. Until... ////no spoilers////
Alex, the dog's handler, has choices to make.
This is a perfectly competent start to a new series. I think it might tie into another of Kloos' series, but I'm not familiar with the others. It's MilSF, which is a perfectly cromulent genre if that's what you like. I read a little of it, but don't go out of my way for it. Unless maybe there's a dog.
I probably won't continue the series, but I was interested and engaged throughout this one.
Well, there is a dog, and it plays a good role, but it's not really what the book is about. It's about a planet that's been invaded by what are effectively intelligent kaiju aliens. A small group of the colonists has been holed up underground, eking out a life hiding from the aliens for eight years. Until... ////no spoilers////
Alex, the dog's handler, has choices to make.
This is a perfectly competent start to a new series. I think it might tie into another of Kloos' series, but I'm not familiar with the others. It's MilSF, which is a perfectly cromulent genre if that's what you like. I read a little of it, but don't go out of my way for it. Unless maybe there's a dog.
I probably won't continue the series, but I was interested and engaged throughout this one.
December 13, 2023
The first ~60% of this book is fast-paced, military sci-fi, but after two rapid deus ex machina, the author stumbles. The last 40% of the book is kinda what you'd expect after a deus ex machina followed by a bit of lost ambling that ends up in an unsurprising place.
I would have rated it two stars, but the best character just gets written out -- with a brief visit in the last 40% -- with the main character, who spends the most time with the best character, just being like 'oh, it's sad that I'll never see you again...' - umm...what?
It simply feels like the author needed to set up a second book and had to shed secondary characters in order to set up that book and that's why we ended up with a somewhat disjointed second part.
I would have rated it two stars, but the best character just gets written out -- with a brief visit in the last 40% -- with the main character, who spends the most time with the best character, just being like 'oh, it's sad that I'll never see you again...' - umm...what?
It simply feels like the author needed to set up a second book and had to shed secondary characters in order to set up that book and that's why we ended up with a somewhat disjointed second part.
March 1, 2024
Good new starting point, maybe
I was pretty bummed with the end of Frontlines but wanted to see where Kloos took the series next. I think he's got a decent new character and the story is currently in peacetime, with the good guys going on the offensive now. I was hoping for more answers from the first series or at least a character cameo or two, but we will see as the story progresses. This is a decent jumping off point where now going forward we will start the whole process of a new soldier's career....again
I was pretty bummed with the end of Frontlines but wanted to see where Kloos took the series next. I think he's got a decent new character and the story is currently in peacetime, with the good guys going on the offensive now. I was hoping for more answers from the first series or at least a character cameo or two, but we will see as the story progresses. This is a decent jumping off point where now going forward we will start the whole process of a new soldier's career....again
December 5, 2023
So excited to get a new Frontlines series from Marko Kloos. New cast, new protagonist, with a very different background. The first half of the book was absolutely white-knuckle suspense, built up gently and then it basically had me by the throat page after page. Alex is a young woman on one of the human colonial planets entirely taken over by Lankies (good idea to read all the other books in the original series but, 20 meter tall aliens that unterraform human colonies to re-notterraform the planet to their standards). Alex is one of a very small group of survivors, living like mammals hiding in the Jurassic era from the dinosaurs, in the single secure location on the planet. And then things changed dramatically.
I had a little trouble understanding how Alex's colony's story fit into the timeline of the original series but I've come to trust that Marko Kloos knows his creation. And now I have to wait for the next installation in the story.
I had a little trouble understanding how Alex's colony's story fit into the timeline of the original series but I've come to trust that Marko Kloos knows his creation. And now I have to wait for the next installation in the story.
July 7, 2023
Rating: 3.7/5
Review: Is this a tipping of the hat to Harlan Ellisons's "Vic Blood"? I dunno. Like they say, nothing is new under the sun. The boy is now a girl. Her dog is not telepathic despite the constant anthropomorphism and there is a real dystopian feel despite the alienness.
I was trying to get something straight in my head throughout this novel. Alex is a mission hardened dog handler whose expertise is spotting the aliens that are 65' tall. Check. So why is she constantly trembling or frozen in fear at the cost of those around her?
The story line never goes anywhere and that's ok. It is more of an internal journey of a young lady as she adjusts and adapts to a new world. What should capture the reader's attention is the writing. It is fluid and tends to draw you in despite the lack of actionable content.
I am curious to see where this series goes.
January 12, 2024
Eight years after the Lankies invaded a human colony on the planet 18 Scorpii b ("Scorpio"), the survivors cling to life in a facility deep under ground and live by scavenging increasingly rare supplies from the destroyed colony above. Alex Archer is a 21-year old who works with the remaining military on Scorpio as a dog handler with a dog trained to give early-warning of Lanky presence.
The Frontlines series was a brilliant look at a military life from joining up through to retirement, covering a soldier with an exceptional career at the focus of humanity's encounters with an implacable alien force. Its strengths were giving insight into the life of an individual soldier at all levels, as a grunt, as an NCO and as he takes a command role, as well as the often fraught interface between being a soldier and civilian life.
This series is set to continue the overall story of the human war against the Lankies through a new main character who's seen more action against the Lankies before her military career than most veterans. In this first book we get a look at the use of military dogs and their handlers, how they're trained and equipped and why they're needed. Yes, its a science fictional account, but it doesn't take much effort to see the parallels in real life. There's also a solid look at the difficulty that someone whose whole life has been in a war zone has in fitting in anywhere else.
Highly recommended and a great reintroduction to this story. You don't need to have read the Frontlines books to pick it up as the author does a careful reintroduction to key elements of what's going on here, and the author is just so much better at his craft now than he was at the start of the first series.
The Frontlines series was a brilliant look at a military life from joining up through to retirement, covering a soldier with an exceptional career at the focus of humanity's encounters with an implacable alien force. Its strengths were giving insight into the life of an individual soldier at all levels, as a grunt, as an NCO and as he takes a command role, as well as the often fraught interface between being a soldier and civilian life.
This series is set to continue the overall story of the human war against the Lankies through a new main character who's seen more action against the Lankies before her military career than most veterans. In this first book we get a look at the use of military dogs and their handlers, how they're trained and equipped and why they're needed. Yes, its a science fictional account, but it doesn't take much effort to see the parallels in real life. There's also a solid look at the difficulty that someone whose whole life has been in a war zone has in fitting in anywhere else.
Highly recommended and a great reintroduction to this story. You don't need to have read the Frontlines books to pick it up as the author does a careful reintroduction to key elements of what's going on here, and the author is just so much better at his craft now than he was at the start of the first series.
April 17, 2024
So, I wanted to step outside of my typical reading genres, and wow. This story was intense and intriguing, and I had to use the dictionary to figure out all of the space terminology.
April 28, 2024
I have only ever read one other sci-fi book (Night of The Living Trekkies - which I loved), surprisingly, I really enjoyed this one, such a fun read! What sucks is that book two in the series doesn’t release until next April!
January 31, 2024
Book 1 of the Spin-off of the Frontlines series.
If you enjoyed the previous books like I did including his other series, the Palladium wars, you won't be disappointed.
Unfortunately it suffers from the same big issues from his other books, Kloos is not in a hurry to put too much on a single book and the pace is uneven, the second part of Scorpio was more like a slice of life story, still interesting to follow but without much happening. After all it makes sense, it's just another book in another long series... It's still good and enjoyable to read but I only hoped that Kloos could write something "shorter", some standalone books or trilogies at best, not making good stories (and writing) watered down in series.
If you enjoyed the previous books like I did including his other series, the Palladium wars, you won't be disappointed.
Unfortunately it suffers from the same big issues from his other books, Kloos is not in a hurry to put too much on a single book and the pace is uneven, the second part of Scorpio was more like a slice of life story, still interesting to follow but without much happening. After all it makes sense, it's just another book in another long series... It's still good and enjoyable to read but I only hoped that Kloos could write something "shorter", some standalone books or trilogies at best, not making good stories (and writing) watered down in series.
January 20, 2024
Left behind
Through the toughest times of fighting towering aliens, Ash, the military dog, protects the squad. But is forgotten about in the final 20% of the story. This leaves the reader skimming through paragraphs anticipating a reunion that was greatly minimized. I got the feeling this book struggled to find an ending. There was a lot of fluff after climax.
Through the toughest times of fighting towering aliens, Ash, the military dog, protects the squad. But is forgotten about in the final 20% of the story. This leaves the reader skimming through paragraphs anticipating a reunion that was greatly minimized. I got the feeling this book struggled to find an ending. There was a lot of fluff after climax.
May 29, 2025
None of it made any sense, and it was all military and dog propaganda.
Just remembered how much I hated reading this, and downgraded from 2 to 1 star.
Just remembered how much I hated reading this, and downgraded from 2 to 1 star.
January 23, 2024
The excitement I had when I finished the first book in the new frontline series Evolution took me back to when I finished the superbly written Terms of Enlistment. I mean it, this book gave me goosebumps in the great plot development that spells out for another great space opera series. Marko Kloos looks like he still has juice in the tank for the Frontline series and boy am I ready for it! In any case here are some of the best takeaways I got from Scorpio.
Amazing Narrative Detail: I noticed while looking at some of the negative reviews for Scorpio that people did not like the “boring chapters� of mindless facts about vault life or the salvage mission in the beginning. While I value others opinions and not every book is going to be viewed the same way, I have to say I disagree with those reviews 150%. Some of Marko’s best descriptive writing is in these chapters and really sets the tone of the psychological drainage the main character Alex is internally dealing with. Marko has a skill in setting a desperate stage and also pulling people into the plot with these chapters. But again, this is my opinion.
Promising Plot Design: As I stated before this book really set a stage for a great series. First Marko has introduced and carried on the Frontline with a whole new character in a completely different approach. I don’t need to be a writer to know how hard this is especially the way Andrews adventure ended in the first series. Secondly, he introduces a new stage in the Lankies War, reclaiming the lost colony’s. There were countless planet colonies described in the Frontline series. All those occupied worlds spells plenty of ammunition for future Frontline Evolution books.
Dynamic Character Development: It was almost like a mystery in learning about Alex throughout the book. I loved this. I hate it when authors spell out all the facts about there main focused characters in the start of a novel. You don’t get that in this book, on the contrary you get little information as the book is digested and normally it goes with the plot. By doing this you get more attached to the characters as more information is given at crucial moments. Mr. Kloos sure has an act for this especially in his multiple perspective/viewpoints in his other series The Palladium Wars.
Easter Eggs: I loved how there were a steady flow of hints of the old series in Scorpio. I know some were needed to describe the continuation of the Frontline series. Again, this is done without the book just spilling out its content guts in the beginning. I won’t share any without ruining the book but you do get some in the new book and I appreciated it.
Intense Psychological Impacts: The last positive takeaway I have for Scorpio is the severe use of emotion. Marko Kloos is a very developed writer/author and you clearly get this in his ability’s to turn up raw emotions into the written word. Again you don’t need to have language arts major to notice the difficulties in getting what the character is going through in the heads of the reader. It is extremely hard and Marko Kloos does this almost effortlessly. The emotional drag Alex is put through without having any relatives and the loss of so much loved ones is clearly evident in the book and ultimately pulls the reader in so much more.
Well that’s all I have to say about Scorpio. My only gripe/complain is the fact I have to wait an entire year for the 2nd book coming out January 2025. I will patiently wait in the mean time but god what a great start.
Thanks for reading,
-Alex
Amazing Narrative Detail: I noticed while looking at some of the negative reviews for Scorpio that people did not like the “boring chapters� of mindless facts about vault life or the salvage mission in the beginning. While I value others opinions and not every book is going to be viewed the same way, I have to say I disagree with those reviews 150%. Some of Marko’s best descriptive writing is in these chapters and really sets the tone of the psychological drainage the main character Alex is internally dealing with. Marko has a skill in setting a desperate stage and also pulling people into the plot with these chapters. But again, this is my opinion.
Promising Plot Design: As I stated before this book really set a stage for a great series. First Marko has introduced and carried on the Frontline with a whole new character in a completely different approach. I don’t need to be a writer to know how hard this is especially the way Andrews adventure ended in the first series. Secondly, he introduces a new stage in the Lankies War, reclaiming the lost colony’s. There were countless planet colonies described in the Frontline series. All those occupied worlds spells plenty of ammunition for future Frontline Evolution books.
Dynamic Character Development: It was almost like a mystery in learning about Alex throughout the book. I loved this. I hate it when authors spell out all the facts about there main focused characters in the start of a novel. You don’t get that in this book, on the contrary you get little information as the book is digested and normally it goes with the plot. By doing this you get more attached to the characters as more information is given at crucial moments. Mr. Kloos sure has an act for this especially in his multiple perspective/viewpoints in his other series The Palladium Wars.
Easter Eggs: I loved how there were a steady flow of hints of the old series in Scorpio. I know some were needed to describe the continuation of the Frontline series. Again, this is done without the book just spilling out its content guts in the beginning. I won’t share any without ruining the book but you do get some in the new book and I appreciated it.
Intense Psychological Impacts: The last positive takeaway I have for Scorpio is the severe use of emotion. Marko Kloos is a very developed writer/author and you clearly get this in his ability’s to turn up raw emotions into the written word. Again you don’t need to have language arts major to notice the difficulties in getting what the character is going through in the heads of the reader. It is extremely hard and Marko Kloos does this almost effortlessly. The emotional drag Alex is put through without having any relatives and the loss of so much loved ones is clearly evident in the book and ultimately pulls the reader in so much more.
Well that’s all I have to say about Scorpio. My only gripe/complain is the fact I have to wait an entire year for the 2nd book coming out January 2025. I will patiently wait in the mean time but god what a great start.
Thanks for reading,
-Alex
February 18, 2024
First, I would like to thank Marko, Kloos, Net Galley and 47th North publishers for allowing me to preview this book.
I am a book reader and really do not really feel qualified to critique any book. I know I do not have the talent or imagination to write ay book, much less 12 of them like Mr. Kloos has but I want to give my honest opinion of his latest book “Scorpio�
I have been an extreme fan of Mr. Kloos since his first book and remain one still. I was so happy to see this book come out because it came out just after the end of his first series “Frontlines� and it continues to detail the human struggle against the Lankies
* Spoiler Alerts****
If I were a first-time reader of one his Mr. Kloos book, I would be completely happy with the book, and I did enjoy it quite a lot. However, the book did not really live up to my expectation. The book did not really explore the underground environment of the colony or their struggle to survive. Which is somewhat understandable since the book was 90% about just the return trip from a foraging mission to find supplies. One of the main characters of the book was the German Shepard dog named “Ash�. The partnership of Alex the protagonist and her dog ash was a “complete� throwaway as the colony is rescued by the Terran Navy. Since this had been such a focal point for 90% of the book to see it dismissed as casually as it was, made the character development of Alex Archer seem pointless, although it helps to explain her enlistment in the final pages of the book.
This book could be described and a preamble to Mr. Kloos next series and I am really looking forward to it, but I felt that the entire book was a letdown, All it did was set the stage for what I would consider the real first book in the new series.
I am also counting down the days until his new book Descent (The Palladium Wars Book 4) is released in July.
I am a book reader and really do not really feel qualified to critique any book. I know I do not have the talent or imagination to write ay book, much less 12 of them like Mr. Kloos has but I want to give my honest opinion of his latest book “Scorpio�
I have been an extreme fan of Mr. Kloos since his first book and remain one still. I was so happy to see this book come out because it came out just after the end of his first series “Frontlines� and it continues to detail the human struggle against the Lankies
* Spoiler Alerts****
If I were a first-time reader of one his Mr. Kloos book, I would be completely happy with the book, and I did enjoy it quite a lot. However, the book did not really live up to my expectation. The book did not really explore the underground environment of the colony or their struggle to survive. Which is somewhat understandable since the book was 90% about just the return trip from a foraging mission to find supplies. One of the main characters of the book was the German Shepard dog named “Ash�. The partnership of Alex the protagonist and her dog ash was a “complete� throwaway as the colony is rescued by the Terran Navy. Since this had been such a focal point for 90% of the book to see it dismissed as casually as it was, made the character development of Alex Archer seem pointless, although it helps to explain her enlistment in the final pages of the book.
This book could be described and a preamble to Mr. Kloos next series and I am really looking forward to it, but I felt that the entire book was a letdown, All it did was set the stage for what I would consider the real first book in the new series.
I am also counting down the days until his new book Descent (The Palladium Wars Book 4) is released in July.
January 8, 2024
A worthy successor to the Frontlines series
Title says it all, if you liked the Frontlines series you will most likely enjoy this foray into the same universe. The twist this time is that we begin on the ground of a colony that the Lankeys have overrun and follow the fight for survival and to continue to hold on.
Title says it all, if you liked the Frontlines series you will most likely enjoy this foray into the same universe. The twist this time is that we begin on the ground of a colony that the Lankeys have overrun and follow the fight for survival and to continue to hold on.
January 19, 2024
Looking forward to the sequel
I think this may be the best novel by Koloa and that’s saying a lot because the front line series was superb. I am completely invested with the main character and I hope she is in the sequel.
I think this may be the best novel by Koloa and that’s saying a lot because the front line series was superb. I am completely invested with the main character and I hope she is in the sequel.
December 20, 2023
Thanks to Amazon First Reads for this ARC copy of Scorpio by Marko Kloos. This gripping scifi novel is quite thought-provoking and is 4⭐️ from me.
It’s Alex’s 21st birthday, and she’s the dog handler in a military vehicle as part of a scavenging mission on a remote colony on an alien planet. 8 years ago, aliens called Lankies invaded their partially-terraformed planet and killed most of the colonists (including her parents), and she’s grown up knowing that they are on their own against the Lankies � there’s no one to come and save them. So when things go wrong on their mission, Alex is facing down survival.
I’m being deliberately vague here, but this book is quite strongly in two parts. The first is beautifully reflected by the description, and is really gripping. The second was totally unexpected, and also excellent but for a very different reason � it’s very psychological. To begin with, I wasn’t sure about this structure. Was it anti-climactic? Maybe. But after sleeping on it, and ruminating a bit more, I definitely like it a lot, despite it being very unusual. It’s clearly setting up a series, but even without that element, I think I really liked this even as a standalone, because it really made me think.
If this were a standalone, I’d have liked more build up of Alex’s life in the Vault before the mission. We got to see some of her relationships with other colonists like Val and Blake, but I’d have appreciated more of that, and it would have made later events hit differently. But as an opener for a new series, I can forgive that.
I also would have liked to see more buildup of the fear of the Lankies, and the near-miss encounters with them previously. It would have helped make their appearance more dramatic if the fear of them and what they could do was built up more � and it would have made the disaster hit harder too.
I really liked the development of the relationships with both Ash and Lopez though, for very different reasons. I’m hoping this will be continued in subsequent books. However,the romantic element is definitely not a major subplot in this book, in case that is a dealbreaker for you.
It was scifi enough for me, without getting into heavy science or fantasy-science � this is probably pretty good gateway scifi, or lighter relief scifi for those who are into the heavier stuff already.
This book is for you if you liked The Martian by Andy Weir, or The Gap series by Stephen Donaldson but wanted something simpler, shorter and more female-focused.
It’s Alex’s 21st birthday, and she’s the dog handler in a military vehicle as part of a scavenging mission on a remote colony on an alien planet. 8 years ago, aliens called Lankies invaded their partially-terraformed planet and killed most of the colonists (including her parents), and she’s grown up knowing that they are on their own against the Lankies � there’s no one to come and save them. So when things go wrong on their mission, Alex is facing down survival.
I’m being deliberately vague here, but this book is quite strongly in two parts. The first is beautifully reflected by the description, and is really gripping. The second was totally unexpected, and also excellent but for a very different reason � it’s very psychological. To begin with, I wasn’t sure about this structure. Was it anti-climactic? Maybe. But after sleeping on it, and ruminating a bit more, I definitely like it a lot, despite it being very unusual. It’s clearly setting up a series, but even without that element, I think I really liked this even as a standalone, because it really made me think.
If this were a standalone, I’d have liked more build up of Alex’s life in the Vault before the mission. We got to see some of her relationships with other colonists like Val and Blake, but I’d have appreciated more of that, and it would have made later events hit differently. But as an opener for a new series, I can forgive that.
I also would have liked to see more buildup of the fear of the Lankies, and the near-miss encounters with them previously. It would have helped make their appearance more dramatic if the fear of them and what they could do was built up more � and it would have made the disaster hit harder too.
I really liked the development of the relationships with both Ash and Lopez though, for very different reasons. I’m hoping this will be continued in subsequent books. However,the romantic element is definitely not a major subplot in this book, in case that is a dealbreaker for you.
It was scifi enough for me, without getting into heavy science or fantasy-science � this is probably pretty good gateway scifi, or lighter relief scifi for those who are into the heavier stuff already.
This book is for you if you liked The Martian by Andy Weir, or The Gap series by Stephen Donaldson but wanted something simpler, shorter and more female-focused.
January 3, 2024
This was an interesting science fiction. I look forward to the next in the series when it comes out.
December 17, 2023
Sci-fi danger in the first half, as human colonists abandoned on an outpost face extinction from alien invaders. Yes, that again. Twists include the protagonists: a strong, young woman and a dog.
THAR BE SPOILERS (predictable, but spoilers nonetheless)
After the improbable, last-minute rescue, the last half of the book abandons the colony the settlers abandon. We follow the inconsistent timeline of their return from deep space to Earth, which, for the survivors who'd spent eight years surviving the invasion, is in many ways also a brave new world.
Recognizing this launches a series, we've met people who doubtlessly will pop up throughout the universe over the next few novels. But it's jarring how little happens in the last half of this one. I'm disappointed that I don't have a clear insight into the lead's personality - when so little besides her inner dialogue was on the last 100 pages.
All credit to editors who (I think) cut a long portion of the trip home. The final version adequately described the awkward return to a home the survivors don't fit into. Adding 75 more pages describing the spaceship journey home might have kept me from finishing.
It's well written, with hints at character development and interesting events. I sure hope we get action and adventure in the series.
THAR BE SPOILERS (predictable, but spoilers nonetheless)
After the improbable, last-minute rescue, the last half of the book abandons the colony the settlers abandon. We follow the inconsistent timeline of their return from deep space to Earth, which, for the survivors who'd spent eight years surviving the invasion, is in many ways also a brave new world.
Recognizing this launches a series, we've met people who doubtlessly will pop up throughout the universe over the next few novels. But it's jarring how little happens in the last half of this one. I'm disappointed that I don't have a clear insight into the lead's personality - when so little besides her inner dialogue was on the last 100 pages.
All credit to editors who (I think) cut a long portion of the trip home. The final version adequately described the awkward return to a home the survivors don't fit into. Adding 75 more pages describing the spaceship journey home might have kept me from finishing.
It's well written, with hints at character development and interesting events. I sure hope we get action and adventure in the series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 9, 2023
If you’re a Marko Kloos and Frontlines devotee you won’t want to miss this story! A great continuation to the series with some fantastic new characters. Not sure if this will be the start of a new series within the Frontlines universe but if so Alex is a great protagonist. However I feel that Evolutions would best be a series with one off stories maybe loosely connected.
Kloos has his well honed writting style present and sense of deep knowledge the military. The first half of the book is super tense, and (slight spoilers) I found the last several chapters the most enjoyable to read as it took the Frontlines series into a territory not seen much in the main series.
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC and thanks to Marko for a fun new beginning.
Kloos has his well honed writting style present and sense of deep knowledge the military. The first half of the book is super tense, and (slight spoilers) I found the last several chapters the most enjoyable to read as it took the Frontlines series into a territory not seen much in the main series.
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC and thanks to Marko for a fun new beginning.
April 16, 2024
A story
This is a story about a girl who loves dogs and loves to sleep. There isn’t much world building or character development outside of the main character. She is funny and makes people laugh or chuckle but has very little personality. Oh yeah, this is a sci-fi�.
This is a story about a girl who loves dogs and loves to sleep. There isn’t much world building or character development outside of the main character. She is funny and makes people laugh or chuckle but has very little personality. Oh yeah, this is a sci-fi�.
February 22, 2024
still waiting
I like the author and I liked the book. But it felt like a prequel to a book I haven’t read yet. Maybe the next one will work for me. I’ll be there.
I like the author and I liked the book. But it felt like a prequel to a book I haven’t read yet. Maybe the next one will work for me. I’ll be there.
January 5, 2024
So I've decided this is really two books. The first half of the book is fast-paced, high-stakes, and action-driven. Couldn't put it down. The characters are well-rounded, the dialogue is fun, and the plotting is intense. Loved it! I had some questions as I read, but I was confident those would be answered as the book developed. Easily a 4.5-star book.
The second half of the book is slow -- almost no action. It's a simple description of "this happened, then this." We don't see much interiority into the main character, and while I think we're supposed to hone in on the fact that she's struggling emotionally, there's not a lot of *impact* of that struggle. She still just walks through doors that other people open for her. And the second half of the book also fails to answer a lot of the questions posed in the first half, so it felt like a bit of a let-down. Two stars. The writing is tight, but the plot/emotional arc/pacing all fall flat.
But my biggest complaint is that the MC does very little. She is passive. Everything happens TO her. Even in the moments with the highest tension, where she's ready to stand up and be brave, someone inevitably comes in and saves her ass before she has a chance to do anything herself.
Big battle with the two Lankies? She is ready to rush them with her pocketknife, but then Lopez comes in with guns blazing. Major battle with the Lankies after they've discovered the Vault? Right when everything is about to go to shit, the Earth folks appear and take them all out for them. (That timing...*eye roll*). And the only other moment of big action, when she is getting mugged at the end....she is about to be shot, and instead of getting out of the situation with her own wits, the police show up *just in the nick of time* (again). I was willing to roll with it in the first battle -- I thought maybe that lack of agency would become a plot point or a way to move the emotional arc forward -- but it didn't. By the end, it seemed like the author just kept getting the MC into crazy struggles but didn't know how to get her out again, so he had to go all duex ex machina. I'm sort of okay if that happens once. But every time? It felt (and I'm sorry to say this) like lazy plotting.
And I was disappointed that the questions posed in the first half of the book weren't answered in the second half. So we have these giant Lankies marching around, but they can be taken out by human guns...but the Lankies invaded the colonies. So they clearly have technology and spaceflight. Where is the evidence of their intelligence, organization, technology? I didn't buy that they were these big lumbering creatures that just swatted at humans and let themselves get targeted by clearly lethal gunnery.
And I wished the author had given us a glimpse of the initial invasion. Where were Alex's parents that Alex was able to get to the Vault but they weren't? And they figured out that radio transmissions trigger the Lankies, but what was the impact of that discovery originally? How did they come to that conclusion? That must have been a shitshow, and I wanted to see that. And they have a name for the aliens -- a name that the Earth soldiers use when they come to rescue them. So there must have been SOME communication with Earth that allows everyone to have some general common knowledge here. I had questions.
And given the wider battles they've had with the Lankies off of Scorpio, I needed more background info. I had hoped the Earth soldiers would reveal some information about a) the Lanky's motivation; b) how they started invading -- what is this tech they used? and c) why the Earth people are so set on colonization -- what's the purpose? I sense it's overcrowding on Earth, but it's never directly addressed.
The first half of the book was so good, I kept expecting a twist, a major reveal, a huge climatic battle. Then all of a sudden I realized I was at 84% of the book and it still hadn't happened. I felt let down. If I could wave a magic wand, I would have the author spend much longer on Scorpio, give us flashback to the original invasion, show us more of the Lankies and how they've developed their knowledge of the creatures. The major battle in the Vault would stretch longer and occur at about the 70% mark in the book. Alex would play a larger role in victory in these situations instead of everyone just constantly being rescued by someone else with a bigger gun. I would shorten and cut a lot of transportation after they've been evacuated, spend more time inside Alex's head dealing with her aimlessness, and let her search for Ash in the ship (AGENCY!). It's fine if Alex needs six months on Earth to realize she wants to join up, but let's speed this up a bit. And I'd also give us more insight into the wider political/military battle with the Lankies once she's back on Earth. Reward us with inside info about motivation/tech/plans.
I feel strongly about this book because the first half was SO good. I woke up the morning after finishing it, still stewing, because I felt like I'd been robbed. Can the author give us a do-over? There is so much potential here!
The second half of the book is slow -- almost no action. It's a simple description of "this happened, then this." We don't see much interiority into the main character, and while I think we're supposed to hone in on the fact that she's struggling emotionally, there's not a lot of *impact* of that struggle. She still just walks through doors that other people open for her. And the second half of the book also fails to answer a lot of the questions posed in the first half, so it felt like a bit of a let-down. Two stars. The writing is tight, but the plot/emotional arc/pacing all fall flat.
But my biggest complaint is that the MC does very little. She is passive. Everything happens TO her. Even in the moments with the highest tension, where she's ready to stand up and be brave, someone inevitably comes in and saves her ass before she has a chance to do anything herself.
Big battle with the two Lankies? She is ready to rush them with her pocketknife, but then Lopez comes in with guns blazing. Major battle with the Lankies after they've discovered the Vault? Right when everything is about to go to shit, the Earth folks appear and take them all out for them. (That timing...*eye roll*). And the only other moment of big action, when she is getting mugged at the end....she is about to be shot, and instead of getting out of the situation with her own wits, the police show up *just in the nick of time* (again). I was willing to roll with it in the first battle -- I thought maybe that lack of agency would become a plot point or a way to move the emotional arc forward -- but it didn't. By the end, it seemed like the author just kept getting the MC into crazy struggles but didn't know how to get her out again, so he had to go all duex ex machina. I'm sort of okay if that happens once. But every time? It felt (and I'm sorry to say this) like lazy plotting.
And I was disappointed that the questions posed in the first half of the book weren't answered in the second half. So we have these giant Lankies marching around, but they can be taken out by human guns...but the Lankies invaded the colonies. So they clearly have technology and spaceflight. Where is the evidence of their intelligence, organization, technology? I didn't buy that they were these big lumbering creatures that just swatted at humans and let themselves get targeted by clearly lethal gunnery.
And I wished the author had given us a glimpse of the initial invasion. Where were Alex's parents that Alex was able to get to the Vault but they weren't? And they figured out that radio transmissions trigger the Lankies, but what was the impact of that discovery originally? How did they come to that conclusion? That must have been a shitshow, and I wanted to see that. And they have a name for the aliens -- a name that the Earth soldiers use when they come to rescue them. So there must have been SOME communication with Earth that allows everyone to have some general common knowledge here. I had questions.
And given the wider battles they've had with the Lankies off of Scorpio, I needed more background info. I had hoped the Earth soldiers would reveal some information about a) the Lanky's motivation; b) how they started invading -- what is this tech they used? and c) why the Earth people are so set on colonization -- what's the purpose? I sense it's overcrowding on Earth, but it's never directly addressed.
The first half of the book was so good, I kept expecting a twist, a major reveal, a huge climatic battle. Then all of a sudden I realized I was at 84% of the book and it still hadn't happened. I felt let down. If I could wave a magic wand, I would have the author spend much longer on Scorpio, give us flashback to the original invasion, show us more of the Lankies and how they've developed their knowledge of the creatures. The major battle in the Vault would stretch longer and occur at about the 70% mark in the book. Alex would play a larger role in victory in these situations instead of everyone just constantly being rescued by someone else with a bigger gun. I would shorten and cut a lot of transportation after they've been evacuated, spend more time inside Alex's head dealing with her aimlessness, and let her search for Ash in the ship (AGENCY!). It's fine if Alex needs six months on Earth to realize she wants to join up, but let's speed this up a bit. And I'd also give us more insight into the wider political/military battle with the Lankies once she's back on Earth. Reward us with inside info about motivation/tech/plans.
I feel strongly about this book because the first half was SO good. I woke up the morning after finishing it, still stewing, because I felt like I'd been robbed. Can the author give us a do-over? There is so much potential here!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 27, 2024
An interesting beginning to a new series set in the same world as previous books. Alex is an orphan, a civilian working with a military dog to keep the few survivors of an alien attack of their colony planet. They have to go on scavenger hunts to find supplies that they desperately need. On her 21st birthday, they're farther away from their hidey hole than ever before when disaster occurs. They've been attacked by the aliens, the few survivors try to return to base but things go astray. Then when their last stand looks to be in sight they're rescued by Earth's military.
March 16, 2024
Like the Frontlines series, this first book in a related series is gripping and gritty, with a fully relatable protagonist -- though the narrative has more of a YA feel than in the main series. (There's also a dog.) I'm eager to read the next installment.
April 5, 2024
This was the first book I’ve read by this author and I really liked it. I don’t normally enjoy military sci fi but since this book had dogs I felt it was worth a try. The story was great and the aliens were unique and terrifying!
August 8, 2024
Don’t know how I feel about this book. The idea for the story is interesting and I was engaged for the first half but then the second part felt rushed and like it should have been the start to another book. Still undecided on if I want to read the next one in the series.
December 8, 2024
A long series of repetitive, back-to-back battles with huge aliens. Then a rescue and a feeling of not belonging on Earth. Followed by enlisting into the armed forces to recapture the adrenaline rushes and the order it imposed.
Not the kind of sci-fi I like.
Not the kind of sci-fi I like.
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